


You rise with the sun, I rise with the moon

by ewinkie



Series: Zutara Drabble December 2020 [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Acts of Kindness, But she doesn't fully unlock his tragic backstory, F/M, Katara learns that Zuko was banished!, Season/Series 02, ZK Drabble December
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:33:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27833068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ewinkie/pseuds/ewinkie
Summary: Zuko is tired, hungry, and well, exhausted from days of travelling alone for days on end. When he stops by a stream for food and water, he runs into a very familiar waterbender.Written for Zutara Drabble December 2020, Day 1: Nightfall
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Zutara Drabble December 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2038174
Comments: 4
Kudos: 63
Collections: ZK Drabble December 2020





	You rise with the sun, I rise with the moon

**Author's Note:**

> So... I did not know that ZK Drabble December was a thing until I woke up this morning and saw all of the fics. I just kinda threw this together throughout the day so I'd contribute something, and because I missed zutara month (this is what happens when you haven't watched the show yet). Also, I'm sorry I overstepped the word limit :( Oh well!
> 
> Set in season 2, between Zuko Alone and The Chase.
> 
> It's also showing up as posted December 2nd for some reason, but I promise, it's not midnight yet where I am!

Zuko hadn’t even been _looking_ for the avatar. He hadn’t given up per se, but there were more pressing matters at hand. Such as the acquisition of food and water for himself and his ostrich-horse.

So when he heard the rushing water of a stream, he didn’t hesitate to steer in its direction. Head spinning slightly as he dismounted, he soon began searching for a stick, a pointy object, _anything_ that could be used to catch a fish or acquire some sort of sustenance.

It was then that he noticed _her_.

She knelt by the stream, her braid blowing behind her as she hummed a tune Zuko had never heard before. Illuminated by the reflection of the sunset on the stream, she looked ethereal, as though she could possibly be a spirit. He may have breathed out a “wow,” but he’d deny it to anyone who asked.

But when his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he noticed two thing very quickly. The first was that this girl had eyes bluer than the stream itself, possibly more so than the ocean on the beaches of Ember Island. The second was that the sunset wasn’t just reflected off of the stream, but also some water hovering in midair. This was a _waterbender_.

He sucked in a breath whit this realization, making her spring up into a fighting stance and turn to face him. He watched recognition dawn on her features when she saw his face, and at the same instant, he saw who she was.

This was Katara, the waterbender who traveled with the avatar. The girl he tried to bribe with her own necklace – he hadn’t _known_ it was her mother’s at the time, and felt a twinge of guilt at the memory – the girl he’d tied to a tree, the girl whose village he barged into and yelled at.

The girl who nearly defeated him at the spirit oasis, who he then knocked unconscious once the sun rose, and the girl who didn’t hesitate to reciprocate once she had the advantage once more. The girl who fervently defended the avatar at every turn, with little to no consideration of her own safety.

He almost didn’t get the burst of flame out to defend himself against her sudden attack. But once he started, he fought with every ounce of strength he had, which, frankly, wasn’t much. Weeks of traveling alone with barely any food had taken its toll, and he wasn’t able to conjure the necessary rage to support his flames. He had infinite reason to be enraged with the world, yes, but he just didn’t have the energy to sustain that anger. He was too _tired_ to be mad.

The girl was clearly more dedicated to the fight than he was; she was yelling _something_ at him, but he was too focused on staying alive to focus on her monologue. He didn’t want to hurt her (that had _never_ been his goal), and he didn’t have the resources to capture the avatar at this particular moment. He just wanted to – well, he didn’t know what he wanted, but he certainly wanted the fight to end, and he wanted to still be alive when that happened. So, he kept fighting, just barely staying afloat against the onslaught of water.

Until he lost his advantage. He felt the sudden decrease in power the moment the sun slipped beneath the horizon, and watched her eyes widen as she no doubt felt her power surge with the moon’s ascent.

And just like that, he found his back up against a tree, the rest of his body encased in ice. Glancing down to take stock of his situation, he found an ice dagger resting an inch away from his throat.

This girl could unleash a world of pain upon him. _And_ she had good reason to. This couldn’t end well for him.

“Well Zuko,” she glared at him, blue eyes boring into his own with the fury of a raging storm, “you may have stood a chance before, but while _you rise with the sun_ , I _rise with the moon_.” She smiled, but to his surprise, it wasn’t a smirk like one Azula would certainly use, or even the one he gave her as he’d said almost the exact same words to her. She seemed genuinely _happy_ to use his own words against him. It suited her.

And watching her eyes light up with mirth, something he’d never gotten to see from her before, brought joy to _him_ as well. Which was odd, considering she’d just frozen him to a tree. And was capable of killing him, in that very instant.

But she didn’t. Even though she had every possible reason to, she didn’t. Instead, she furrowed her brow and asked “Why are you alone?”

Again, there was no bite to her voice. Zuko himself would’ve probably snarled it, or taunted her if she’d chased him all over the world and tried to capture someone _he_ cared about.

“Where’s your Uncle? And your crew?” He did _not_ enjoy having salt rubbed in his wound like this, but fought the urge to snarl at her. She was being _nice_. For no reason at all. So he decided to be polite.

“My uncle and I got separated. And Zhao took my crew… And blew up my ship,” he added for good measure.

“Aren’t you the prince?”

“Huh?”

“Well, your father’s the _firelord_ , right?” She spits out the word like _it_ tied her to a tree, and tried to bribe her with her mother’s necklace – which Zuko would apologize for if he wasn’t currently in such a similar situation.

“So?”

“ _So?!_ So, shouldn’t you get first dibs on crew, ships, technology?”

 _Oh. She doesn’t know_. For reasons he cannot explain – unless pretty blue eyes reflecting the moon’s rays count as a reason – he chose to tell her.

“My father banished me. And sent me on a quest to find the Avatar.” Her eyes widened at that, glancing quickly at his scar, but not with pity. No, this was something he couldn’t place something he hadn’t seen in a long time. He blushed as she looked him up and down, embarrassed at his recent loss of muscle. Her brow furrowed. She dropped the ice dagger, and she began to walk away.

The last thing he saw before he finally lost consciousness was her fading silhouette in the moonlight.

When he came to a few hours later, the ice had melted. His canteen had been filled with fresh water, and his ostrich-horse was lazily sipping from the stream. His bag had been replenished with nuts, fruits, and even some dried meat!

Later, when Uncle asked him (with suspicion) how he came by all of these supplies, he didn’t lie. He told the tale of an ethereal, compassionate girl who took pity on him, and disappeared soon after. And when his uncle asked if he’d really been visited by a beautiful spirit? Well, Zuko had barely been conscious during the whole encounter. So he told his Uncle, “Who’s to say?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed! I'm super excited about ZK Drabble December, even though I probably won't post everyday. But still! This is all very exciting to me :D


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